According to information released on August 23, 2021, the Australian Government Department of Defense has signed a $158 million contract with Australian infrastructure services giant Ventia to upgrade the current fleet of ADF (Australian Defence Forces) engineering vehicles, providing the ADF with a further 291 vehicles. These will include cranes, excavators, bulldozers, loaders, telehandlers, forklifts, graders, and rollers.
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Private Brooke Bishop from the 22nd Engineer Regiment, Royal Australian Engineers, works with Local Contractors to remove fallen debris with her Army LX120 Digger from roads near Trentham, Victoria. (Picture source Australia DoD)
Australian Minister Price said the contract would help standardize, rationalize and modernize the ADF’s (Australian Defence Forces) current Engineer Support Platforms fleet and provide critical force enabling functions to the ADF.
The vehicles will be used for a range of projects, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and to support amphibious operations. the vehicles will be also used for This includes construction, demolition, development of protective earthworks, route development and maintenance, airfield and port construction and repair, port operations and supply and distribution.
The Australian company Ventia is the ADF’s industry partner for the repair and maintenance of Army materiel including artillery, small arms, instrument repair, night vision equipment and all armored vehicles and variants. Ventia currently delivers approximately 900,000 maintenance hours annually and operates a 24/7 nationwide vehicle and equipment recovery service.
The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army. The corps has both Regular and Reserve units, which are situated across the country within the Army's three regular maneuver brigades – the 1st, 3rd and 7th Brigades – and within the Reserve 2nd Division.
Military engineering vehicles are built for construction work or for the transportation of combat engineers on the battlefield. Manny engineer vehicles are based on modified civilian equipment such as armored bulldozers or existing tracked or wheeled military combat vehicles.
The RAE provides combat engineering, construction, and other technical support to the Australian Defence Force. Its main roles are to provide mobility and counter mobility capabilities to the Australian Army and its allies. This means enhancing the ability of friendly forces to move while denying movement to enemy forces. In order to provide these capabilities, engineers are required to conduct many tasks, including penetrating minefields, locating and disarming booby traps, clearing unexploded ordnance, conducting explosive demolitions, purifying water, surveying, and building and maintaining roads, airfields, and bridges. The Corps also performs the majority of the Australian Army's demolition tasks and is trained to fight as infantry if needed.
